Carriers
by RefinedHalestorm
Summary: There are more than just seven survivors. A lot more. Join over 15 new and unique survivors as they are separated among a destroyed country as they explore the dark abyss of secrets…and the killer "disease" itself. OCs to be accepted.


**Author's Note:** Wow, it's been awhile since I have actually tried and write a Fanfiction. Being a less than successful writer on here has made me avoid it, but not anymore! I present to you: my new Left 4 Dead story, Carriers. I've been brewing up this idea in my head of a while, and since there is so many great stories out there in this fandom, I've been really inspired to actually go forth with this idea. So, while I was offline for several weeks, I actually wrote this chapter and have been obsessively editing it since. I'm really proud of this piece, and I really do hope that other people like it as well! As mentioned, Carriers is intended to introduce many new survivor characters, and I do intend to accept OCs. Anyway, I just have a few things to ask before you begin reading this brick: I would like to have as little silent readers as possible. I understand you might not be logged in or whatnot, and that's fine. I'm not begging for people to read and review, but if you can give some sort of feedback, it would be severely awesome and appreciated! Also, I have a request of my readers: since my editing has been done so obsessively, I really can't stand to edit this anymore, but if you notice any spelling errors, I would love it if you PMed me and told what they were so I can fix them up. Otherwise, I really hope you all enjoy this story!

**Rating: **Rated T for violence, adult language, sexual themes, references to alcohol and drugs. If I feel the need to do so, I will increase the rating, after all, I don't want any uncomfortable readers.

**About OCs:** OCs will most likely be accepted into the series, but I can't be sure as to when I'll accept them, if I do. I guess the earlier I get them, the better? I really don't want this story to get attention out of OCs, though. That seems to be a rather common pattern. Don't get me wrong, though, I love OCs! I'm just a bit skeptic about throwing them in here.

**Summary: **There are more than just seven survivors. A lot more. Join over 15+ new and unique survivors as they are separated among a destroyed country as they explore the dark abyss of secrets…and the killer "disease" itself. OCs to be accepted.

* * *

**Arietta, Neil, & Grayson**

The town of Newport was dead. Not that this was anything new, Newport had always been a small, desolate location with a population even too small to acknowledge. This was always considered ironic, as Newport was on the borderline of the city. Despite the town always being "dead", it was now literally dead. The monstrous transformations that citizens who once lived here had undergone, they was like walking corpses. Pale, fragile beings that had no emotions, no thoughts, and their eyes were yellow and soulless. They were driven solely by hunger and instinct.

It was a foggy time, early in the morning. Although, fifteen year old Arietta didn't really know what time it was, her groggy nature told her it was still much earlier than she should be awake. The only one with a working watch was Neil, but he was passed out on the couch. Grayson lay on the floor beside him. They had battled it out the night before, but Arietta , being the only girl, remained victorious to getting the only bed in the small Safe House. It was a small apartment, with only three rooms; a living room that extended into a small kitchen and dining room, a bedroom, and a bathroom. The three teenagers had all decided to settle in the bedroom, that included a bed and a couch. Arietta had already decided not to interrupt either of the two while they slept.

The girl had laid around in the bed for a while. She shifted constantly, battling with her hungry stomach to find the sleep she desired for. She closed her eyes and sighed, "It would be awesome if I could sleep right now," she mumbled, rolling over, taking the bed sheets with her. She didn't know how long she fought with this feeling, it seemed like forever, but in the end, she ended up on the losing side of the battle and sat up, looking out the barred window.

The Safe House wasn't high up. She thought since it was an apartment, it would be. But it wasn't, in fact it was extremely close to the ground and near the harbor, too. Arietta leaned her elbows on the windowsill, she felt a wave of nauseous sadness wash over her, but she ignored it as she watched the sun slowly rise and the fog in the distance begin to disappear over a period of time. Eventually, the sun shone through the closed curtains like small diamonds, and the girl noticed that Grayson had stirred. She partially hoped Neil would awake before Grayson, simply because she preferred Neil over Grayson for several reasons.

It wasn't entirely long before the light blanketed the sky, Arietta put her arm over her exhausted eyes before squinting to see outside. "Eh?" She heard someone say, and turned to see that Grayson was awake, looking out through the blinds above her. She felt strange, having the boy so close to her, she actually felt her face redden, "D-don't do that!" She almost yelled, surprised and then lowered her voice, "Sorry, you scared me," Grayson didn't even so much as glance at the girl. Grayson and Arietta hadn't gotten along, not even from day one, the two constantly argued, even though it was Arietta and her dog, Ankoku, that had saved the pair from their infested high school. He pretended she didn't exist, and in return, she pretended he didn't exist. Neil acted as the healthy medium of the group as well as the peacemaker.

"Neil," Grayson called to the lazy black-haired boy who stirred from his sleep, "Neil, there's someone here," he said and Arietta's face grew red, "That would be me, you idiot!" She called as Grayson pushed her head down, "Be quiet and look outside," Arietta almost slapped him, but then her eyes grew wide. Neil let out a yawn from the other side of the room, "What do you want?", he mumbled as he looked up, "Damn, that's bright!" Neil shouted in surprise as he covered his face with his arm like Arietta had done previously.

Arietta noticed what Neil was talking about: there were two shadows in the distance, one was holding a pistol and the other with a crowbar. "They are armed poorly," Grayson remarked as Arietta shot him a glare, "We were just like them once, too." Grayson let out a slight growl, "Sorry, I don't know how to use an AK-47," Arietta knew he was being sarcastic, she didn't know how to use one either. Sure, she saw them in video games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, but like most normal people: she didn't know how to use guns.

"Who is 'they'?" Neil replied as he scratched the back of his head and finally made his way over to them, his unkempt hair more of a mess than usual. "Oh, them!" He said, realizing what was happening now, "Well, you idiots," Neil said casually as he put a hand on each of their shoulders, "I say we slept enough," he continued energetically: how did he have that much energy so early? "Let's go find them!"

Neil spun around and began to get his bag from the corner of the room, "Out of the question," Grayson said harshly at once. Both Arietta and Neil turned to him, shocked by his sudden decision. "Why?!" Neil said in the most animated way possible, "Because," Grayson continued, looking at Arietta the whole time, "They can be dangerous for some of us," Grayson had decided to empathize on the last word, Arietta noted unhappily.

"They're armed with a crowbar and a pistol," Arietta replied sarcastically, "I think you keep forgetting that I have a Hunting Rifle and Neil has not one, but two Magnums. Or maybe you're too busy being a narcissist and staring in the mirror to realize that we could actually use some more allies," She said with a slight grin as Grayson's face grew hot and red, "Shut it, Freshman," He replied snappily as Neil put his shoulder bag on and threw Arietta's backpack to her. "Come on, Grayson. We're immortal if we work together," Neil added cheerily while Arietta put her bag on as she stepped out of the bed, walked across the room and opened the door, "You two argue this out," She said, stepping out of the room, "I'm going to be out here," She added as she shut the door, leaving it open an inch. She could still hear them debating, much softer now that she was gone. She ignored that fact and walked into the living room and whistled.

In the living room she was met with an ancient black dog, who barked energetically. She leaned down and began to stroke his rough fur, he was standing guard that night, even though his hearing was poor and his bark was weak. "Ankoku," she quietly mumbled the dog's name, the dog had once belonged to her Japanese teacher before the world became infected. He had grown fond of Arietta, and began to follow her despite her protests. Because of that, he'd become a member of the team. "More of a member than me," She mumbled as she looked into the dirtied mirror that could found hanging on the wall near the barred door. She looked at herself in the mirror: she was rather tan from being out in the sun all the time, her hazel eyes had circles around them and bags underneath them. She was unhappy with how her hair was, only because of how dead it began to look. Not even that, it was beyond dirty at this point. The once dark brown of her hair had become a honey-like color, she couldn't help but notice. Arietta never cared much about appearances or anything, but she didn't really enjoy how childish she appeared. She tried to fix her hair as best as she could when Neil and Grayson exited into the room.

Grayson had his backpack on and his shotgun in his hand. A chrome, Arietta had always pointed out. Neil was the only member who wouldn't carry a large gun, instead he took joy in smaller guns, which would be two Magnum pistols. Arietta really had no clue how he could use both of them, only because of how the blow-back on those things were: they were destructive though. Arietta had a hunting rifle and a kitchen knife that she always had equipped to her belt. Grayson had a pistol holstered on his left leg as a secondary weapon. It wasn't much, but it got them through well enough. "So, we all set?" She knew that Neil had won his way when Grayson nodded, a bit annoyed. "I'm ready," Arietta said as she walked over to the door, before looking behind her, "Oh, and Grayson? I'm a Sophomore."

* * *

**Phoenix & Yuri**

"That's all for now, thank you for your time, Miss Lenas," The unnamed attendant said yet again, a quote that Phoenix had heard for several days in row by now. Phoenix faked a smile and nodded, "you're welcome," and with that, the attendant left. Phoenix knew she could make the attendant's job much more painful, but chose not to. It wasn't his fault that he was commanded to watch over her: all of the workers here were originally just normal soldiers who had been deployed at this army base as well as the remaining ones around the country. Most of them had shared the same pain and loss that Phoenix did as well. She didn't quite understand their interest in the survivors like her, but she didn't question it, either.

Phoenix leaned back in the cushioned chair that she was usually given to sit in when she was taken in here for questioning. She was in the confined conference room, and she wasn't really sure as to why, but each day she hoped that someone would tell her. Everyday though, she saw the same attendant who asked her the same questions about how she was doing and how she felt. After that, she was taken back to her room. It was the same routine everyday for the past week or so. She believed it was to ensure that she wasn't infected or about to transform, either: it was for her safety.

She really didn't have too many complaints though: she was safe from the rabid "zombies", the building was air-conditioned, and she was well-fed. Her room was decently comfortable and she could rest all she wanted. It wasn't like in those movies and books where she was experimented on because of her survival abilities, but to be fair, she was really only on the field for two days, and a helicopter had found her and a few others. The others were probably going through the same process. "Only natural," she sighed and leaned back as the door opened again and she looked up, surprised.

"Miss Phoenix Lenas, correct?"It was a blonde man, he appeared older than her, maybe he was in his early thirties or so, he had a serious look that made Phoenix's heart stop: something didn't seem right. She had never seen this man before, either. "Y-yes, that would be me," She stammered as she looked to him and there was an awkward silence for a few seconds, before he burst into laughter, "sorry, you should've seen the look on your face," He said smiling suddenly, "My name is Richard Barke, but you can just call me Rich or Richard," Phoenix was confused and she almost didn't notice the dark-haired boy who came in through the door behind Richard, he appeared younger than both Richard and Phoenix. "Nice to meet you, Richard, I'm Phoenix, but most people prefer some sort of nickname," Richard nodded silently, taking a seat across from her.

"I can see the confusion on your face," He said as the dark-haired person hovered in the back corner of the room. Phoenix frowned, what was his problem? Was he afraid she was going to bite or contract the disease? "Sorry, I do that to all people that are like us, Morietta says I'm a badass actor." People like us? Morietta? This was the first time that Phoenix had heard either of those, it was beginning to get irritating. How long had she been left in the dark? But she wanted answers, nonetheless.. Phoenix leaned onto the table as she listened to him talk on.

"You want some answers by now, right?" Phoenix looked at him, displaying shock, she nodded. Was he a mind reader? "No, I'm not a mind reader,"He added with another smile covering his almost vanishing one, "I've just been helping out around here with carriers." Phoenix blinked, "Carriers?"

"People like me, you, and Yuri here-," He turned around, "Yuri, get over here!" That's when the dark-haired boy, apparently named Yuri, walked over to the table, "yo?" Phoenix blinked as Yuri leaned his hands onto the table and looked at the girl, "she's the one that 's been raising alarm around here, huh?" Yuri said as he looked to Phoenix in almost a hushed tone, 'raising the alarm'? "A-anyway," Richard flustered suddenly, making the notion to push Yuri back, "Carriers is just what it sounds like: us here are the ones who carry and hold the disease," Richard's smile vanished. Phoenix stared at him, hard, "What?" She said in a stern voice, as if demanding answers.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lenas, you are contributing to the cause for the disease, which is why you are-," Richard was cut off by Yuri, "locked away in here. Just like the rest of us. Except this lucky bastard," he said pointing to Richard, "I say we kill him," he whispered to Phoenix in a jokingly dark voice before Richard pushed his head down, "shut up, I'm talking." Yuri groaned and sighed, Phoenix could sense slight tension between them, but it seemed like RIchard was oblivious to it.

"Miss Lenas, I'm not telling you this for you to feel guilty. I'm telling you this because you may actually have a cure for the disease," Phoenix blinked and stared, why didn't anyone tell her this sooner? "It's slim, but as you can see from-dammit, where is it?! Yuri, go get the clipboard," He said, sending Yuri off to grab a stack of papers from across the room. Phoenix had been told multiple times never to go near or touch the papers. She never understood why she couldn't until now, it was because she could infect one of the caretakers or attendants here. Yuri brought them over, even though he was a Carrier as well. Richard held them, even though he was a Carrier as well. Phoenix sighed, "you know, I was told to never touch those and I know why now."

"That was because they were still gathering information, now they have what they need," Richard said as he handed the papers to Phoenix. At the top was her name, birthday, gender, and basic information. Going down was information like hair color, eye color, and the like. Flipping through pages were yellow papers that had a hazard symbol in the top corner and had a symptom list that was either checked "negative", "positive", or "unclear". Most of them, if not all, were marked positive. "You're special, Miss Lenas," Richard said looking at her, "you've been infected with the disease you're carrying, showing immunity, yet you still show signs of infection." Phoenix's heart stopped as she clutched the papers, her palms were sweating. Were they going to kill her?

"It's not going to cause you to become like them, though," Phoenix took a sigh of relief, "in fact, we are certain since you are a special case that you may have answers that we need. A cure," Richard took her hand in his and looked in her eyes, "I'm asking you, Phoenix, to allow them to test on you. They're not going to hurt you, they just want to draw blood and the like. Of course, we need your permission to do anything, though." He let go of her hand and leaned back, "you have some time to think about it, of course. If you make up your mind, just let me or Yuri know, we don't really want any of the attendants knowing that you are sick as well." Richard said, standing up and pushing his chair in. Yuri grabbed the back of the chair, "you're coming with me, Yuri, I hope you know that."

"I'm good, thanks," and Richard smiled, "alright, I'm locking you in here with her then," he said waving the ID around that allowed him to open and close the door as if it was a threat. Yuri shrugged, "go for it. I actually want to talk with people instead of being a jackass like you and asking people for favors without knowing them," and Richard frowned, "fine, I'll be back in an hour or so." He walked out the open door, sliding the ID card against the grid on the outside and locking the door.

Phoenix stared at Yuri, what exactly did he want? "Are you mute?" Yuri asked and Phoenix nodded, "Yes, I mean, no. I just wanted some answers. So I was quiet, sorry."

"That's what I thought. You seem like a mouse. How old are you, anyway?" Yuri asked rather casually, he seemed to be trying to make small talk, but he asked in a rather snarky manner. For some reason, Phoenix didn't really mind, he was the first one to try and talk to her in a while. He didn't even acknowledge her apology, but she didn't really mind that, either."I'm twenty-two...hold on, what about you?"

"I'm twenty-one," he said and then caught a glance from Phoenix, "you don't really look twenty-one." Yuri sighed, "fine, I'm only seventeen, but my birthday is next week. So I'm actually eighteen. I like to lie and say I'm older to get around this place, hopefully to get information like Richard. But instead, he's using it to find a cure for Lucy." Phoenix almost asked who Lucy was, but refrained herself. It was most likely some sort of personal affair, "Do you and Richard know each other?"

Yuri nodded, "we're cousins. That makes me the only one who can really talk back to him, or to know that he's not just 'laughs and smiles' like he wants people to think he is." Phoenix looked at the chair, "aren't you going to take a seat?"

"Aren't you going to stand?" Yuri said, flipping an ID around. "I wanted to show you around a little. There's a few people I want you to meet, actually. If you're not paralyzed, that is." Phoenix shook her head, "No, I can move. But I thought that is against the rules?"

"What rules?" Yuri said with a scoff, "there isn't any rules in the Yuri Anarchy. Especially since they like to put us in cages and question us, asking us to lend them blood to find cures. God forbid they find another survivor, they feel the urge to ask to experiment on them."

Phoenix stared at the teenager. He was more brilliant than anyone else around here and seemed to figure things out quicker than she did. She wondered briefly how long he had been here. "Is that a yes or no? Because I have a feeling he'll be back soon." He meant Richard.

Phoenix thought for a moment, taking in what Yuri said. Yuri stood by the door, sliding the ID against the grid and the door opened instantly, "well?"

Phoenix stared silently at Yuri, but she already knew what her answer would be, "yeah, let's go."


End file.
